To Build A Home
by mamellias
Summary: Snippets with an angsty Ares and an orphaned Artemis — Sasuke, Tenten. [hiatus; in the process of being revised]
1. age seven

part one, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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"It's like a pool of—"

"—blood?"

Tenten frowns at the sudden metallic tang lacing her pink tongue. "No," she says, unsure, reaching for a fallen star. Thumbing the soft, crinkled edges, she's only a tad startled when the raven-haired boy beside her plucks it from her tiny hands gingerly. "Or cherry butter..." he mumbles thoughtfully, lost in the intricate patterns of the bright red leaf.

"Candy-apple..."

"I think—"

Sasuke grins. "It's like the sunset, in leaf form!"

"I think so," she agrees, nodding her head because it _is_ like the sunset. All red and orange hues blending together, pretty, pretty, pretty...

"Tenten?"

The brunette meets Sasuke's curious gaze with eyes as curious as the Uchiha's own. "Is there a reason you don't want to come over today?"

Tenten wrinkles her nose, "no," she says,_ yes—no_, she thinks.

"Then why won't you? 'Tachi-nii wants to—" but his vocals are lost with the sudden breeze and with it, his mother's own voice, loud and firm and just plain..._motherly_ blends in with the chilled air.

"Tenten?" and Sasuke steps in front of the girl's line of vision, onyx eyes curving upwards, and Tenten thinks of her grandmother, for some strange, strange reason.

They share one more smile, and Tenten waves her hello to Mikoto, who's standing at the edge of the dewy grass their bare feet are buried in, and Sasuke places the sunset-colored star back into Tenten's hands. "See you later, dango," Sasuke bids, and Tenten giggles a "later, chibi!" before waving him off, too. As he runs up to his mother, Tenten knows he'll look back at least three times until he can't anymore, and that's when she crushes her tiny hands together, letting the smashed pieces of the sunset-colored star vanish through the cracks of her fingers and away with the autumn wind.

_"Is there a reason you don't want to come over today?"_

Tenten sighs to herself, to the empty park and chilly gusts. "No," she says, but her grandmother's light, wrinkled hand lands upon her shoulder, and she thinks, y_es—no._

_ ._

_._


	2. age thirteen

part two, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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"Do you believe in life after death?"

Sasuke shifts above the cool grass from Tenten's right, letting his gaze fall upon her smooth cheek. "Like heaven and hell?"

Tenten shrugs, "or reincarnation. Anything like that, really—"

"—no." He answers quietly, turning his onyx eyes to the midnight sky dangling above them, swirling and twinkling beside the bright moon. He can hear the annoyance in her next inhale, and he allows a smirk to shape his chapped lips. Tenten moves so she's laying on her side, right hand cupping the side of her head as she faces the only living Uchiha in the village. Loose strands of mocha tickle her neck as a pair of cold tea eyes study the sharp curves of his face. "I do," she breathes, and he could feel the moist air of her warm breath on his cheek.

"I do," she repeats, nodding along with her own voice." I like to think my parents—whomever they were—were good people, and my grandmother is with them now, and that they're resting somewhere happy, somewhere peaceful. Don't you? Don't you think that your family is somewhere happy?"

Sasuke scoffs, pretending her question doesn't irk him as much as it truly does. "Of course not," he says, "I don't have time to—" a flick of her finger to his temple makes the side of his lips twitch, "—think like that."

Tenten smiles softly, lets the support from her elbow go, and she's falling down to the cool grass, a puff of breath leaving her mouth as her back hits the hard ground. And somehow, somehow...she lands closer to the raven-haired boy.

"Yes you do," Tenten blinks, referring to his bland statement, "you just choose not to."

Sasuke's counting the bright, dead stars above—ears open as he listens to his companion.

"If you choose not to," she starts, and a part of Sasuke thinks _oh no, oh no._ Tenten clears her throat quickly, quietly, and continues. "I'll believe for you, okay? Twice the belief, twice the truth, right? Your parents were kind people, as were the rest of your family, I'm sure. I'd like to think that they've met with my parents, wherever they are, and're watching us _right now_—"

"—what if your parents weren't as kind as you think them to be? Then what?"

Tenten takes pause, and exhales with a, "Evil? You mean if they were evil?"

And she sighs, "I've thought about that...thought about that a lot. But if they were evil, then wouldn't they have produced an equally evil offspring?" and he can hear the tease gliding off her tongue, "I'm not very evil—in that sense—am I, Sasuke?"

He meets her question with a small grunt, and nothing else, but there's a tiny grin dancing behind his dark eyes, telling her what he truly thinks of her silly question.

"When we're older," Tenten's voice is full of something Sasuke can't quite pick out, and he looks at her—really, really looks at her, but she's smiling at him, eyes shaped into two cheerful crescents, mouth twisted up prettily. "When we're older, let's meet there, okay? Wherever _there_ is."

Sasuke turns away, back to the midnight sky, to the seemingly blander stars and dimmer moon, and questions her with a flat, flat voice. "What if one of use were to go bad," he inquires, "rogue. If that happens then—" and this time she's interuppting him, a shrug allowing her bare shoulder to brush up against his

"If that happens—which it won't—the other will just have to go and save them, make them good again. Deal?" and she's holding out her pinky finger towards his own. Slowly, Sasuke brings his own up, wraps it around hers, swinging it back and forth three times before letting go, before letting his hand find its way behind the tall, dried grass once more.

"Deal," he murmurs, onyx eyes too far away to mean any damn thing, but she doesn't really notice right now, because she's hanging onto the sincerity he's managed to muster, the sincerity dripping heavily with that one word. _Deal, deal, deal.._

_._

_._


	3. age thirteen, two

part three, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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Tenten allows the last of her half eaten pork bun to vanish from her grasp and into the hands of the Uchiha boy, all smirks and silently grateful chewing. Her lip twitches dangerously, curving under the crumbs on her lips and she smothers her forming smile with the brim of her tea cup, blowing on the too warm liquid as Sasuke takes the unoccupied seat beside her. It's quiet for a few, or some, minutes, and the silence between the pair settles down between comfortable (on her part) and frustrated (on his part), until Tenten notices, as Sasuke finishes his stolen snack, that the Uchiha's face isn't its usual placidity.

"What's up with you?" the brunette inquires curiously, watching Sasuke's pale lips twist downward stubbornly, watching as he shakes his head slowly.

Tenten hums, and hums and hums and hums until she's running out of tune. "Sasuke_."_

_"Nothing_," he says in an unamused grunt, standing up from the bench as he reaches his hand out, tugging at her elbow. "Follow me, alright? 'Wanna show you something."

Before Tenten can follow her thoughts to nod, she finds herself up on her feet, lunch bag crumbled into a tight ball of paper. She tosses the wad into a near by bin with her free arm, pulling her captured elbow out of Sasuke's loose grip.

"Naruto sabotage training today? You look tense..?"

Sasuke isn't sure if her words are a question, _she's_ not even sure if they are, but he shakes his head again, dark hair falling into his pale face, and he quickens his pace. Tenten, growing agitated by lack of response (and you'd think she'd be used to the silence with him, but she's _not _and just because he isn't very talkative with the rest of the population, it doesn't mean s'the same with her—no, no), exhales loudly, matching her pace with his.

"Where are we going—?" she tries, but her attempt at _something_ is cut short because suddenly they're not walking down the slightly less busy paved path out of Konoha anymore, no; they're surrounded by unrecognizable brush and tall, tall trees and Tenten doesn't remember seeing him form any hand signs, but then again, she wasn't really paying attention to his hands as much as she was the crinkles around his dark, dark eyes.

And as Tenten examines their surroundings closer, examines the dense green and occasional brown, yellow, sometimes white and purple, she has to bite her inner cheek to keep the brilliant awe from escaping her grinning lips.

The clearing they enter, past even larger leaves and thick vines, is about fifty or so meters in diameter, shielded from the outside by overgrown creepers, bramble, and towering trees. Red and orange snapdragons board the inside of the circular clearing, and the breeze floating by side-sweeps the flowers, creating this image of flickering flames Tenten can only be mesmerized by. The wispy green grass below their sandal'd feet tickle Tenten's exposed ankles, and there are so many white primrose scattered about, Tenten thinks the flowers are mimicking winter's bare snow, maybe.

A medium-sized rock, smooth and moss'd over, sits a few yards from the entrance's (or what Tenten assumes is the entrance) right, dabbed with yellow blossoms and more primrose around its place atop the soft earth. Tenten doesn't have to look up to know that the sky is very blue, very bright, because the sun's light is peeking through the entanglement of leaves the trees have created, centering its shine on the glassy beryl body of water opposite of where they're currently standing.

"How did you even _find_—"

"—s'an old family training area," he murmurs to Tenten, reaching an open palm out and catching one of the falling leaves from the treetops above. "Last time I was here...was about a year before—before."

"You're the only other person who knows...the only one outside my clan who's been here. It wasn't used much before, definitely hasn't been for a long while. I think, I think it shouldn't be."

Tenten understands, and she can't really picture the area covered in metal, soft earth hardened by the wear-and-tear of running feet, craters scattered about—she doesn't want to. "Thank you," Tenten bows her head slightly with her whispered words, and Sasuke only scoffs before taking off towards the placid water. He inclines his head forward, and Tenten takes the hint, following the Uchiha, leaving her sandals at the edge of the clearing.

They're ankle deep in the man-made body of water when Tenten trips on an underwater root, and her clumsiness is rewarded with an upward curve of Sasuke's lips as he makes no move to help the half soaking girl back to her feet.

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	4. age thirteen, three

part four, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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When Sasuke enters their dark clearing, a string of curses swirl around the inside of his mouth, too quiet for her to hear, but not quiet enough for her to hear _him_, to know he's there. He's aware it was a stupid idea to come out here tonight, but he had to—had to make this final stop before...before.

Tenten doesn't say anything, just sends him a questioning frown before tilting her head upwards, away from him, searching for something in the highlight of the dim moon. He follows her gaze, but a memory too fresh for comfort leaves a bitter taste on the tip of his tongue, and he manages to tear his gaze away from the mocking scene and to the girl in front of him, all bandages and defeated posture.

When she musters up the courage to face him, her eyes are hazy, bland. Temari's win somewhat ruined her, for awhile. And just as she managed to pick herself back up...

"Sasuke—"

"—go home, Tenten." He doesn't like speaking to her like this, like if he's someone who could hold authority over her, but he needs her to leave. He needs her to leave now, because if she doesn't...

She stands her ground, "why?" she inquires, eyes lingering on the pack slung over his shoulder. And he knows what she means, but he can't—can't speak to her about this. Can't let her know, flat out, that he's betraying their home, even if she already understands his reasons. So he snorts, and plays dumb, because he doesn't know what else to do. "It's late, you're still injured—"

"—_why?_"

Sasuke glares, dark eyes smothering her with test. "S'none of your business." And he's right, for the most part.

"Damn right it isn't!" Tenten scoffs, takes a deep breath and lowers her voice, because their clearing isn't for yelling, for fighting. She starts again, mimicking his careless glare, "But you aren't—we're—you can't leave, chibi. Now isn't the time." He could hear the accusation hanging off her words like a leaded chain. _You can't leave me alone, not again. _He wants to shout at her, tell her to quite being so selfish, but he understands, understands that she also means _you can't be alone again, either_, so he doesn't.

Tenten crosses her arms and approaches him quietly, cautiously—not in fear, not in determination to get him to stay, no, she knows he has to go. She doesn't want him to, but she knows. She knew the moment she found out about Orochimaru's offer, even before he, himself—

Sasuke shakes his head, face smoothing out indifferently. "Sorry, Tenten," and he means it. He really, really does. For the first time since his arrival, Sasuke notices Tenten's lack of shoes, and state of dress, and her hastily thrown up hair, and he wonders how she knew where to find him, because from his short observation, he's concluded that she must've just awoken before coming out here in such a rush.

"Not now, Sasuke, you can't...you _can_. But, but _not now_, chibi—" He doesn't let her finish, he doesn't want her to finish. Her fumbling voice struck him more than he'd like to admit, and that's why he couldn't let her finish. That's why, when the next breeze shifted, he left with it.

Tenten's kind of stuck for a moment, staring confusedly at the space he once stood, gulping back a frustrated scream. He didn't even let her...

Something in her tells her to cry, to chase after him, to _fight for him _to staybut she hasn't been that kind of girl for a long, long time, and all her mind allows her to do is blink. And blink and blink and blink. She sinks to the ground, bare legs burrowing in the tall weeds, and she doesn't move until the clear sky is replaced by blackened clouds, and the crystal moon isn't there anymore, gone, just like...

She thinks she should want to castrate him, be angry—so, so angry—about his decision, frustrated with herself that she couldn't—_didn't try to_—do anything to stop him. But all she wants to do sleep. They made a promise some nights ago, sometime ago, and she's willing to keep it. But right now, she just wants to sleep.

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	5. age six

part five, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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She bumps into him one day outside of a sweets shop, braided pigtails brushing her collarbones, cheeks specked with dirt and a fading blush.

Clutching onto his mother's hand, Sasuke's high on the thought of sugar. The patterned package in Mikoto's free hand is all his eyes can see, all his brain can think of, and so when his shoulder knocks into hers on the way out of the shop, he doesn't bother to say sorry because there's chocolate with his name written all over it and all he has to do to get at the sweets is return home as fast as he possibly can.

But Mikoto stops her stride and chides him, forces him to go over to her and apologize even though Tenten has her face pressed to the cool glass of the shop's display window, even though she isn't paying any attention to him, to them. And he should be grateful for that, he doesn't think he can stand apologizing to one of his crazy fans, and that's why he lets go of his mother's hand and walks over to her, determined to get this over with so he can eat his sweets with a clean conscience.

"Hey!" he calls, and Tenten whips her head around, panicked, hoping it isn't the shop owner, because it obviously isn't her grandmother's soft spoken shout. And when she sees it's just the boy whose shoulder she may have collided with, her face melts into disinterest and slight annoyance. "What?" she replies firmly, dainty hands finding her small hips.

"'M sorry for bumping into you," Sasuke says quickly, waiting for a "that's okay" or "I'm sorry, too," and when none comes, he huffs, crossing his arms as a glare shapes his eyes. Tenten frowns, shrugging him off and turning back to the display window.

Sasuke raises a brow and takes a perturbed breath, "why don't you go inside and get something? I don't think staring is going to help very much."

"Don't have any money," she mumbles, voice muffled by the fogging glass and Sasuke looks back towards his mother, as if waiting for her to tell him it's time to go. When she doesn't, Sasuke groans and questions Tenten once more. "Where's your mom? Doesn't she have any—"

"I don't have a mom. I have my grandmother, but she doesn't have enough money to give me, not for something as silly as chocolate—"

"If it's so silly, why're you just standing here? S'not going to change anything—"

"'Cause s'chocolate, _duh_," Tenten pushes away from the glass when she sees the owner move about inside, and turns to face the pestering boy. Her eyes, large and a little wide, recognize the shop's packaging in Mikoto's hand and she tries not to grin at the sight. "Is that yours?" she asks Sasuke, pointing to the neatly wrapped box and the boy nods, confused.

"May I have some?" she says to Sasuke, walking up to Mikoto shyly, knowing her grandmother would scold her for asking. Mikoto offers Tenten a sweet smile, crouching down to the child's level, and when Sasuke says nothing, Mikoto's smile dips into a neat frown and she glares at her little boy mildly. "When somebody asks you a question, you answer, Sasuke."

"But ma—s'mine!" Sasuke falters, bewildered with his mother's behavior. She isn't supposed to give away _his_ sweets!

With a light pat to Tenten's clasped hands, Mikoto unties the package and reaches in and pulls out a hand full of bite sized pieces of fudge. Mikoto fills Tenten's small hands with the chocolate, her dark eyes shaping into cheerful crescents at the warm smile adorning Tenten's lips.

"Thank you," Tenten bows, careful of the hard chocolate squares in her hands. She turns to Sasuke, popping a piece of the fudge into her mouth, sighing delightfully at the semi-sweet chocolate on her tongue.

"Thank you," she says again, to the young Uchiha, and bids him a polite grin. Sasuke shrugs, turning a pouted cheek to his mother. A defeated "whatever" escapes his pursed lips, but when he sees the genuine gratitude in the strange girl's eyes, and the slightly threatening glare from his mother, he sends Tenten a small quirk of the lip. "You're okay, I guess," Sasuke says, nodding his head to his own comment. "You're okay."

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	6. age thirteen, four

part six, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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When Shikamaru rounds up Neji for his little "Sasuke Retrieval" team (she isn't so sure they'll succeed—Sasuke could be very stubborn some, or most, times) Tenten hugs her Byakugan wielding teammate and wishes him luck. She's confident in his abilities (and she always will be) but she knows the ninja the Uchiha is traveling with have to be tough. So instead of brooding around with the remaining Konoha 12, she goes on with her recovering life, visiting Lee, remaining calm. That doesn't stop her from worrying, from wondering, but she relies on the information Hinata brings every hour, and turns down the Hyuuga's offers of joining her to wait for them all at the gates of Konoha.

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The moment Gai comes to her in panic (voice raised a few more octaves higher than usual, she thinks) Tenten's placid (and slightly worried—what is taking them so long?) façade drops. As she tries to calm her sensei, she catches the words "Lee" and "missing" and "—after Shikamaru's team" slip from the gurgled mess of words spewing from his mouth.

Tenten pales, worry increasing because now both of her teammates are out there, one clean out of surgery, possibly facing very dangerous opponents (because what else would be holding them up so long?). She clasps her hands together and prays to her namesake, dismissing her sensei's sudden disappearance. In the back of her mind, she curses her childhood friend because if he hadn't left, two very important people to her wouldn't be risking their lives to bring him back.

She ignores the even smaller voice in her head whispering obscenities at said teammates (and everyone else for that matter) for believing they could convince Sasuke to return to the village. They should know better, but they don't, and she doesn't bother informing anyone else but herself, because they won't listen to her. No one does, not really. Not Lee, not Neji, not Gai-sensei, not Hinata, no one. The only person who ever did is gone, and so she does nothing but go on with her recovering life.

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	7. age nine

part seven, revised.

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**To Build A Home**

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One day, when Sasuke's visiting Tenten and her elderly grandmother, he catches his friend thumbing the edge of a crinkled photo and frowns. "Do you miss her?" Sasuke finds himself asking, watching with a softened gaze as Tenten fumbles with the small square, smoothing it out carefully, as if to repair the torn edges. The brunette doesn't speak as she continues to thumb a finger over a face much like her own, only older, with long hair twisted in a chignon and a scar marring her smiling lips.

"No, not really," she mumbles, exhaling tiredly. "You can't really miss someone you never knew."

Sasuke nods, wondering if he could categorize her as the _same. _Probably not.

They sit on Tenten's twin sized bed for a few more moments before Tenten rephrases his question, moving so her head was resting against one of the two pillows that matched the lilac sheets of her bedspread. "Do you miss Itachi?"

Sasuke blinks, mouth opening quickly—ready to shout angrily at her for even asking such a thing—but he shuts almost as quick. Something in him stirs and he sighs, defeated, just as exhausted as his companion, laying back on her old duvet. "Should I?" is his weak reply, and they say no more for the rest of the afternoon, until Tenten's grandmother comes in to ask if Sasuke's staying the night, and the Uchiha thinks about it, but he shakes his head and gathers his things, departing with a quiet goodbye.

Tenten keeps her eyes on the Uchiha until the door to her room shuts behind him and she's left alone until dinner. "Yes," she says out loud to herself. _Maybe_, she reconsiders. _  
_

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End file.
